Puppy help - shuts down with collar or harness on - Page 2

Put the collar on and feed him, leave the damn thing on and don't make a fuss about it. I'm assuming this is a shepherd puppy? They seem to be sort of wimpy about new stuff. If you leave it on he won't even notice it in a day or two. Even try and put a halter on a young horse? Cow, goat, sheep?? They all act like you are killing them.
I just got a brand new puppy, never had a collar on before i picked him up from the breeder. Put it on and it's been there for 5 days now and he doesn't even care. Plus i've been walking him on a leash a bit, it's not easy, but it's doable for potty walks. My pup will be 10 weeks on Saturday.
Basically don't coddle is what i'm saying.
Best of luck with your new puppy!
Fry

That's exactly what I was thinking. Just put the collar on and leave it on. You might be inadvertently rewarding the negative behavior by putting it on, asking him to do something but when he just lays there and does nothing, the collar comes off and you repeat whatever you just told him to do and then he does it. (The situation with your wife calling him, for example.)

 

From this, he learns that if he behaves a certain way, the collar comes off.

Leave the collar on him, and he will get used to it. You'll probably see him scratching at it to get it off, but once he realizes it won't come off, he will get on with his life. Don't coddle him and tell him it's going to be okay when he's behaving negatively. Be neutral, and eventually, he will be neutral.

I had a similar experience where my puppy wouldn't eat a certain food because I had been feeding her all sorts of things (i.e. beef tongues) as treats (I read that it helps brain development to expose them to different tastes and scents, not sure if it actually worked or not, but she's definitely the smartest shepherd I have owned so far), so once I moved her back to her normal food, she would not eat, and I eventually caved in and gave her something extra just so she would eat. That, then, developed into her skipping meals unless it was something she wanted. Well, I finally firmed up and said, "enough was enough, she'll eat what I give her to eat."

She would be uninterested in a meal so I took it up after fifteen minutes and repeated at the next meal time; eventually, she got hungry enough to eat her food. Later (around her puberty, I believe) the issue came back, so I had to repeat the process. It worked again, and I haven't had any issues getting her to eat what I set out for her anymore.


Hope that makes sense. I'm half asleep.

Thanks for the advice. I have the collar on and just leaving it on him. I took him this morning for a walk around PetSmart which was pretty brutal as he doesn't want to move and I don't want to drag him along. I just decided to be patient and wait and go on his terms and he eventually does walk. Lots of small stops and such but he did walk around the store and back to the car. I will do the same at home today and hopefully it gets better.

Thanks for the advice. I have the collar on and just leaving it on him. I took him this morning for a walk around PetSmart which was pretty brutal as he doesn't want to move and I don't want to drag him along. I just decided to be patient and wait and go on his terms and he eventually does walk. Lots of small stops and such but he did walk around the store and back to the car. I will do the same at home today and hopefully it gets better.

Did you buy this puppy to do Sport with him? What kind of collar are you using? And have you talked to the breeder about any of the problems that you're having?
The breeder might be able to give you some good information like did they put collars or bands or anything around the puppy's necks...and I'd be asking if your puppy had any bad experiences with a collar...Did he get corrected somehow...maybe pulled or caught on something...It would just give you some insight into what's going on...plus you let them know what happening with your puppy...

I was even going to mention to tie a piece of "yarn" around the puppy's neck to let him slowly get used to something around his neck without any problems...

If you do have a collar on him and leaving it on...PLEASE keep an eye on him and DON'T leave him on his own this way...If you leave him while you go somewhere be sure to take the collar off...

~Bob~

One other thing I'd like to say about this situation...Whatever you do Don't Feel Sorry for your puppy...I mean when you put a collar on him Don't just stand there and say OOOOOOooooohhh and Aaaaaahhhh to him...Just walk away from him and let him figure it out for himself...Just be sure to keep him SAFE...

Good Luck...

~Bob~

Bob, I contacted the breeder asking those exact questions (and some others) but haven't heard back yet. I actually am taking a month off to bond and work with the puppy and I am leaving him on his own in an expen for short periods and I am removing his collar if I am not with him.

Put the collar on and leave it there, taking it off all the time just makes the problem worse. We are talking about a regular buckle type collar right? Not a chain or a prong? If the dog can't handle a simple collar there are deeper problem in this guy's future. :(
And i repeat, do not coddle the puppy. Just ignore the behavior you don't like.
Good luck
Fry

Very good...If you're not there to keep an eye on him he could get into trouble with a collar left on...
Even with you there and with the collar left on...he needs to be observed so that nothing bad happens...A buckle type collar is safer for a puppy but it's still a collar...
How's he been doing with the collar left on? Puppies usually react to a collar left on for a little bit and then just adjust and accept it...

~Bob~